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2.2 How Canadian Pentecostals Form a Ministerial Organization
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Honestly, it saddens me whenever a split takes place. I was happy to see that PAOC would allow Frank to pastor in his own convictions, and confused as to why the split and not the acceptance of that answer. Perhaps there should be a board with members from all areas to be able to visit on these matters. To allow room for disagreements, but still find unity in the decision making. I believe the doctrine must be a firm foundation in order for us to be fully equipped and empowered to be able to go out and evangelize.
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I agree with this statement, as the Bible itself warns against unprofitable arguments & controversies.
I think the guiding principle as to what matters are of primary or secondary importance should be resolved through the filter of this: how does it profit us to agree on this point, and what are the dangers if we do not?
An additional point for reflection could be whether or not the authors of Biblical letters felt it necessary to warn against a particular doctrine. For example, John wrote very adamantly that Jesus is God, combating a heresy, and Paul urged the Galatians not to give in to the idea of salvation by works. However, they did not warn against a lot of other things that Christians frequently debate about, such as the “style” of church service, or eschatology.
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Personally, I understand why the PAOC decided to allow a breadth of belief on their doctrinal statement. It is hard to get a doctrinal statement that answers every question any individual may have. I agree partially in that I think evangelism should be the focus, but I also think that having a doctrinal statement is important. Having a doctrinal statement helps guide the decisions being made and the direction that the organization goes. It is hard to say who should decide whether a matter is secondary or primary importance, because there will always be a difference in opinion and there is no leadership committee that is perfect. I think that deciding whether or not a matter is primary or secondary importance needs to be a long conversation with people in leadership and with the Lord to help discern what should be focused on.
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Well, this is a very loaded question. Ultimately, if the scripture is clear and direct about something then it should hold the ultimate authority no matter what. On other things which it seems the Lord left for us to interpret, well I think the only filters that are mandatory in that equation are 1. humility in discussing these things, 2. genuine pursuit of truth with no selfish motives, 3. constant focus on the Spirits guidance in the process. It should be with these three things that any interpretive biblical concepts should be approached.
On the matter of the evangelical focus, I think that their heart was probably in the right place, and I have a hard time seeing that as being a bad thing; more people get saved. On the other hand, you are arguably less effective when you take your focus off of God’s word in that process. On the other, other hand, you can become insular when you mainly focus on reading the bible rather than getting out there and witnessing. I believe the middle ground between these two things is the best place to be.
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